The digital ecosystem has rapidly evolved in the past decade. Along with it, digital has become a complicated and grey zone. With the increased accessibility of the internet, the misuse of it has increased. Instances like misinformation and spreading fake news can create havoc in a blink of an eye. And when a brand’s name is associated with this mishap, it can take an ugly route.
The brands often associated with this negative and misleading content are most likely to lose the trust of their loyal users. In light of this, it has become important for brands to become vigilant of their digital advertising efforts and ensure that their brand name is not unknowingly associated with potential risks of illicit or unsafe ad placement.
In this article, we will cover everything related to the potential risks of brand safety threats and how to overcome them.
What does brand safety mean?
Brand safety is a term coined to explain the process of regulating the placement of an ad placement to ensure it is not associated with controversial content or context. Controversial content means any content that spreads hate, is associated with violence, sex, extremism or political propaganda.
Brands use various ways to combat unsafe ad placements. One of the known techniques is keyword blocking which ensures that the content is safe based on whitelisted keywords. However, there is a catch. This method can miss other factors like contextuality and suitability of the content. Furthermore, these whitelists tend to become outdated and overly populated.
Why brand safety become a priority in 2023?
Due to the increased online presence, brand safety in digital advertising has become a necessity for every brand present digitally. The growth of digital media has given rise to a great range of brand safety concerns like ad fraud, hate speech, inappropriate content, fake news and phishing. Consumers have become woke with time and they feel cheated when they come across a brand’s advertisement beside controversial content. This eventually impacts the brand’s reputation and causes further financial risks.
Today’s consumers have become very vigilant and once they come across an unsafe ad placement, they perceive a negative image of the brand. They also showcase their thoughts and reviews about the brand using various mediums. This goes beyond damage control. To ensure that the customer retains for a longer time, brands need to try to gain their trust.
An industry survey by Media Ocean has stated that 40% of marketing leaders believe that brand safety is expected to increase.
To ensure that this wave doesn’t harm the brand reputation of your brand, it is essential to take the right action. For overcoming this threat, brands need to be shown on a safe and brand-appropriate ad placement which adds additional legitimacy.
Consequences of an Unsafe Ad Placement
According to a study by CHEQ, Magna, and IPG Media Lab, some of the consequences due to the violation of brand safety guidelines:
- There is a 2.8x decline in willingness to be associated with a brand
- 2x decrease in purchase intent
- 7x loss in brand quality perceptions
Towards A Safe Advertising Journey
An effective ad placement can help customers resonate with the brand positively. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. Brand safety is not limited to just content, but also considers the ad association. In the ever-growing digital landscape, this is a complex process when done manually.
Brand safety requires close analysis of the brand, its messaging and the channels used to deliver it to the audiences. Apart from making exclusion and inclusion lists, the brands need a smart approach to ensure that the ad placements are contextually relevant and safe.
Advanced media brand safety solutions can solve this dilemma for the brands and help them stay ahead of the latest trends and threats.
Stay vigilant of your brand’s presence in the digital ecosystem and avoid mishaps that can be harmful to your brand reputation when ignored.
